book data
27 ratings,
4.00
average rating, 9 reviews
(more data...)
edit
published
April 19th 2005
by Pantheon
binding
Hardcover, 368 pages
isbn
0375406107
(isbn13: 9780375406102)
description
From Julia Blackburn, an author whose ability to conjure lives from other times and places is so vivid that one suspects she sees ghosts, here is a po...more
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »
friend reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 46)
All ratings
|
5 stars (6)
|
4 stars (12)
|
3 stars (3)
|
2 stars (1)
|
1 star (2)
|
avg 4.00
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in September, 2005
If you are at all a fan of Billie Holiday, then you will want to read this book. It is not your average biography; the author presents basic facts in a timeline up front, then proceeds to tell Billie Holiday's story through the words of those people who worked with her or knew her in other ways throughout her life. Most of the interviews were actually done in the 1970s by another person, who was going to write a book based on these interviews, but who committed suicide before the book went to pr...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
what i like best about this book is how it is set up.
this one woman initially was researching billie holiday's life thru talking with many people who knew her. and she tape recorded each interview and made notes and had these different documents. but eventually she committed suicide (weird) and this other woman picked up her work and finished the book.
the way it is set up is basically each chapter different stories that different people in her life tell. i like the story telling wa...more
this one woman initially was researching billie holiday's life thru talking with many people who knew her. and she tape recorded each interview and made notes and had these different documents. but eventually she committed suicide (weird) and this other woman picked up her work and finished the book.
the way it is set up is basically each chapter different stories that different people in her life tell. i like the story telling wa...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
Freaky. The author found audio tapes from another would-be author who did the research in 1971 to write a book about Billie Holiday. She transcribed the tapes of all these people, mainly other musicians, who are now dead. Noted is that the stories don't always match up and a lot has been told about Billie Holiday that may or may not be true. She mostly lets she different versions all be told with the idea that overall themes will emerge. She does say, however, that "Lady Sings the Blues"...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2009
Very good book showing point of view of people who had met Billie - girls she went to school with, musicians, family.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2007
there are 23498237495872 biographies of billie holiday and although this is the only one i've read, i think it's the best. blackburn interviews people who knew billie - her lovers, her managers, her family, other musicians, and lets us take from them what we will. reading the interveiws in the slang and dialect that surrounded billie's life and career gave the stories a genuine, tangible feel, unlike the somehwhat sterile tone that most biographies have.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I couldn't put this book down. I love the way it is set up and how every chapter explains a piece of her life from different prospectives and people who worked with her,her lovers, family and friends. Julia Blackburn does a wonderful job.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2006
A boring, disorganized book. I was listening to Billie Holiday a lot and realized I didn't know too much about her. After reading this book, I still didn't know that much.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This book gave a great look into the life of Billie Holiday and all the trials she had gone through.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment

























